Quick TW: Izuku has a panic attack in this chapter, I make a note right before the start of the scene. It's a little drawn-out over several different perspectives, and I tried to make it non-graphic.
"Izuku, can you hand over your phone for a minute?"
"Hmm?" Izuku asked, holding his phone out. "I'm not in trouble, right?"
"Nope, not at all-now that I've slept on it, I think it's time to give our local skeleton a talk," Hisashi said, opening Izuku's contacts. "He didn't show up to class on time, and as a result, you got close enough to stab a homicidal villain after nearly drowning. I'm sure I'm not the only parent that wants to give him a piece of their mind, but I am one of the ones that can actually personally contact him."
"Ah, that's fair," Izuku said, looking at the t.v. and the news segment running on the USJ attack. "He was just doing his job beforehand and ran out of time, though-"
"And didn't do his teaching job-other heroes were at the scenes he visited," Hisashi said, muting the t.v. and putting the phone to his ear.
It only took a few rings before it was answered. "Young Izuku-"
"Hisashi Midoriya, actually-we need to talk," Hisashi said.
"Ah, is there-" All Might started.
"Yes, I have a problem-you were late to class yesterday and my kid nearly died!" Hisashi hissed.
"Young Izuku didn't get hurt, did he?" All Might asked, sounding worried. "He seemed healthy afterwards-"
"He was within arms reach of a villain with a disintegration quirk!" Hisashi said. "Not to mention that warping villain that dropped him in a water zone with other villains-my son has been training to be a hero since he was six years old, what would have happened to him if he hadn't? I have two sons, you idiot, and yesterday almost changed that!"
Izuku reached over and gently pat his dad's knee, nodding his head towards the bedrooms, where Hitoshi and Kaminari were still sleeping.
Hisashi took a deep breath. "How are you going to make sure this never happens again?"
"UA is working on upping the security measures-" All Might started.
"I'm not asking about UA, I'm asking about you," Hisashi said. "They were there to kill you and nearly started killing the kids instead-I'm sure I'm not the only parent that's going to be pissed at you, so? What are you going to do about all of this?"
There was a pause on the other end, and after about ten seconds, All Might sighed.
"I won't use my muscle form until I get to school and start with class until we have captured these villains and ensure that the students will remain safe," All Might said. "That will mean patrolling after school hours if I have time left, which means spending less time with Young Izuku, but if I remember correctly, he's training with two of my colleagues, so I'll be able to step back a bit-my apologies in advance."
"As long as he stays safe," Hisashi said.
"Of course," All Might said. "I truly do apologize for yesterday. I should have been there and fought against the Nomu sooner to ensure the villains could have been captured on site or at least retreated sooner. It's very fortunate that none of the students suffered any injuries."
"At least you recognize that," Hisashi said, then hung up and handed Izuku back his phone.
"Feel better?" Izuku asked, sending All Might a quick text apologizing for the quick hang-up.
Hisashi sighed, then pulled Izuku into a hug. "I can't help but keep thinking about the what-ifs, Izuku. I…I don't know what I would've done if you…if you hadn't come home-"
"I did, though," Izuku said. "And I stabbed Shigaraki-even if he has healing quirks at his disposal, he might not be able to use half of his quirk." Izuku grinned. "And I bet once he's done being angry, he's gonna be scared of me."
Hisashi sighed, ruffling his son's hair. "You're going to be a force to be reckoned with if you're a few days in and a villain is already scared of you. I'll worry every step of the way, though. So will Mom. It's a parent's job, after all."
"I'll do my best so you don't have to worry so much," Izuku said. "I promise."
"I know," Hisashi said. "Stay out of trouble when you can."
"And if I can't, make sure my knives get more action," Izuku said.
Hisashi chuckled at that.
….
"Hey, Denki, time to wake up."
"Mmmm, five'ore minutes," Denki grumbled, burrowing deeper into his pillow. He was so warm…
"Breakfast's ready."
Denki immediately sat up, rubbing at his eyes. "Food!"
Hitoshi snorted, reaching a hand down. "C'mon."
Denki grabbed onto Hitoshi's hand and let him pull him up, the two walking over to the kitchen as Izuku was setting out plates.
"Morning!" Denki said.
"Morning, Kaminari!" Izuku said. "Morning, Hitoshi!"
"Too early for this…and why'd you greet him first?" Hitoshi said, glancing around the kitchen. "Any coffee?"
"Already brewing," Inko said as Hisashi sighed.
"Still not good for you," Hisashi said.
"How much coffee do you drink everyday?" Hitoshi deadpanned as he got a mug down for himself.
"Do as I say, not as I do-at least Izuku doesn't drink coffee," Hisashi said.
"I have an energy-based quirk-wait, if I do drink coffee, how much would that boost my quirk…?" Izuku said. "On the one hand-"
"Nope, nope, how about we change the subject?" Hisashi said. "Kaminari, you like pancakes, right?"
"Yep!" Denki said. "Anything I can help with?"
"Nope, almost done," Inko said. "Sleep well?"
"Yep-thanks again for letting me stay here for the night," Denki said.
"Of course, anytime-I wouldn't want either of my two living alone-feel free to stop by for dinner anyday," Inko said.
Denki lit up. "Really?!"
"Yep-I can't say stay the night whenever, but it's always nice to have an extra person around," Inko said just as there was a knock at the door. Everyone looked that way.
"...are we expecting anyone?" Hisashi asked.
"I'll get it," Izuku said, getting up and walking over to the front door.
"I AM HERE!"
"Oh, are you fucking kidding me?" Hitoshi hissed, looking that way.
"Is that-" Denki started.
"TO SEE HOW YOU'RE FARING-ach!"
Denki walked over and looked over just in time to see All Might himself-as he…deflated?!
"What the hell?!" Denki squeaked out.
Izuku and deflated All Might whipped their heads around to stare at him as Hitoshi, Inko, and Hisashi looked over as well.
Hitoshi groaned. "This is why I call you the local dumbass skeleton!"
"HUH?!"
…
"That's four of my classmates in the last 24 hours," Izuku said, slamming his head against the table as Denki just stared at All Might, looking around at the Midoriyas as if confirming that he wasn't going insane. "Goddamnit, All Might, you are horrible at keeping secrets! How have you kept this from all of Japan so far?!"
"I'm usually much better about this," All Might sighed, sipping at the apple juice given to him, eyeing the plates, the fact he couldn't eat that delicious looking and smelling solid food shown in his eyes, eating at him.
(Don't mind that random vivid description, I personally laughed.)
"How the hell did you guys find out?" Denki asked, looking directly at Izuku. "He's our teacher."
"Yeah-long story short, I, uh…saw him deflate last year," Izuku said.
"I was there for it," Hitoshi said.
"We later…dragged him into meeting us as well," Inko said.
"And now he knows where we live and worries about the kids sometimes," Hisashi said, glaring at All Might, almost as if daring him to argue against their spontaneous implied-lies.
"That's…that's weird, not gonna lie," Denki said.
"Eh, we've gotten used to it," Hisashi shrugged.
"Ok…ok, then," Denki said, taking a bite of his food. "Uh…are you eating, too?"
Hitoshi snorted at that. "He can't."
"What do you mean he can't?" Denki asked.
"I, ah…have a hard time eating solid foods," All Might said. "I was injured badly a few years back, destroyed my stomach."
"Ouch," Denki said. "But, uh…you kinda need food?"
"I drift by on smoothies and other soft foods," All Might sighed.
There was another knock on the door, and Izuku's eye twitched.
"I swear to God, who is it this time?" Izuku muttered, getting up.
"I'll get it and send them away," Hitoshi said, walking over to the front door and pulling it open, blinking twice before shutting the door, small explosive pops immediately heard after.
"Hitoshi, you can let Katsuki in," Hisashi sighed.
"I'm not explaining why he's here," Hitoshi said, pointing at All Might.
"Ah, I can leave," All Might said, getting up and…walking over to the window. "Your fire escape goes all the way to the ground, right?"
"Are you seriously-" Denki started.
All Might opened the window and hopped onto the fire escape, sliding the window shut behind him and leaving.
"How often-" Denki asked.
"You saw nothing," Hitoshi deadpanned as he turned back to the front door and opened it. "Can you quiet the hell down? It's too early for this shit."
"You always say that," Bakugou grumbled, shoving past Hitoshi and into the house, slipping on a pair of house slippers-
-and then stared directly at Denki.
"What the hell is he doing here?!" Bakugou yelled, a few more pops coming from his hands.
"He lives nearby, so he stayed the night," Izuku sighed, slamming his head back on the table.
"Are you sticking around to eat?" Inko asked, getting out another plate.
"Yeah, yeah, your cooking is better than the hag's," Bakugou said, grabbing a chair and sitting at the table.
"Is this normal?" Denki asked, turning to Hitoshi as he sat down.
"Just another day," Hitoshi sighed, sipping at his coffee. "Just another day."
…
"Are you staying after again today?" Kaminari asked, looking at Izuku.
"Probably," Izuku said. "If not, I'll head right up to the library."
"Nice-I'm heading to class-see you at lunch," Hitoshi said, then walked away.
"So, I have several questions,' Kaminari said as soon as Hitoshi was out of sight.
"Start naming them," Izuku said.
"First off, oh my God I slept in his room and he has so many stuffed animals, why is he so hot?" Karminari groaned.
"If it's entirely questions about why you think my brother is hot, I've got nothing to say there," Izuku said.
"Right, right…now, about the local dumbass skeleton," Karminai said. "Is he seriously…"
"Yeah…yeah, he comes by every once in a while-you might see him around the neighborhood, but he's not around as often-as you can probably guess, he's usually really busy."
"Yeah, I'd guess," Kaminari said. "Now, what's the deal with Bakugou?"
"Our moms are friends-we are not-well, not exactly-it's complicated," Izuku said. "But I still call his mom Auntie Mitsuki-the Bakugou's live nearby, but we don't see them that often."
"Ah," Kaminari said, nodding. "Gotcha."
Izuku stepped into their classroom and looked around-
"Midoriya."
Izuku looked over to Todoroki and gave him a small smile. "Hi, Todoroki! Doing better after the USJ?"
"I am ready for school today," Todoroki said, blinking slowly. "If I'm correct, the Sports Festival should be coming up. Do you think they'll still hold it after the attack?"
"With more security than ever and making sure we stay safe, hopefully, but it would be a show of strength and confidence that this won't happen again," Izuku said.
"Wait, seriously?!" Kaminari asked as Izuku sat in his seat, but turned so he'd be looking towards Todoroki.
"Good," Todoroki said, then crossed his arms on his desk and laid his head down.
"He's…a little too calm right now," Kaminari said, sitting on Bakugou's desk and looking at Izuku. "You'd think Iida would already be here, huh?"
"He's in the bathroom," Todoroki said, his voice muffled a little.
"Thanks, Todoroki!" Izuku said, then got out his homework. "You had questions about a math problem, right, Kaminari?"
"Oh, right!" Kaminari said, digging through his backpack. "You really are a lifesaver, Midoriya!"
…..
"Good morning."
Everyone immediately sat up straight and looked at their homeroom teacher-some bandages around his elbow, but otherwise alright-thankfully.
Aizawa-sensei entered the classroom and looked around. "Good, you're learning." He stood at the podium. "Now, first on the agenda. Your parents have been sent emails about this already, but UA is formally apologizing for the danger that you went through. The USJ incident should never have happened, and we are in the process of putting in protection protocols in order to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. While injuries were minimal, the risk was very real, and you were all very brave and strong to get out unharmed. That said, don't let it get to your head-there are more matters to attend to, something very serious."
Everyone immediately tensed up.
"The Sports Festival is in two weeks-prepare yourselves."
"So ordinary!"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ashido asked. "With everything going on?"
"Think of it as a show of strength," Aizawa-sensei said. "We're under even more scrutiny than ever, but we aren't going to back down. There will be more eyes than ever watching, so give it your all." His eyes settled on Izuku for a few seconds, almost as if debating something, but ultimately seemed to decide against it and looked away. "Plus Ultra and all that. Now, that's all from me-talk amongst yourselves, but let me nap in peace." With that, he climbed into his sleeping bag and fell asleep.
"I'm so pumped up!" Kirishima said. "I can't wait to show off at the festival!"
"Tch, I'm gonna win," Bakugou said.
"We'll all do our best," Izuku said quietly, looking at his fist.
Someone's not making it past the festival-I'm grateful it's still going to happen. Hitoshi's gonna get to make it in. Too bad everyone came back after the USJ incident, though. I thought at least one person would drop out.
Izuku looked around as everyone began to talk amongst themselves as he took out a notebook and made sure to bite his lip as he theorized.
Let's assume that we each have a counterpart in 1-B that's just as strong as us, and let's assume that all of us get to round 2. If I'm right from past festivals, 42 total students will make it past, at least two not from the hero course. Hitoshi will be one of them, and we just have to make sure he gets past round 2 to the third round-once he's in round 3, he's practically guaranteed a spot. Only 16 students-not even a full hero course class-gets to round 3. Now, the real question is…what will the events be? Izuku paused his writing for a few seconds. More importantly, I'll want to know what the quirks of 1-B are. Maybe I can trade quirk names with one of the students? If I can get the names of their quirks, I can figure out the rest-we'd both win in that case.
"Oi, Deku, shut the fuck up."
Izuku looked up and blinked at Bakugou. "Didn't really I was muttering, my bad."
"Tch," Bakugou said. "You don't even need to know the other class's quirks for a counter strategy-just use whatever quirk you used when we were kids-no one can go against it and you know it."
"I didn't use some kind of quirk back then-I don't know how many times I'll have to tell you that, but it's the truth," Izuku shrugged, looking back at his notebook and writing a few more notes, then writing down his classmates' names and quirks. He'll have to try to figure out 1-B's roster and quirks later.
"Bullshit," Bakugou said, but turned away. Izuku placed one hand over his mouth and continued to write down strategies for the Sports Festival.
…..
"Uh…hello?"
Izuku looked over, then stood up as he took in the fact that there were so many students standing outside their classroom.
"What are they all doing?"
"Scoping out the competition," Bakugou said, standing up and walking over. "Move it, extras."
"You can't just call people extras because you don't know their names!" Iida said, hand chopping.
Izuku sighed and looked around the crowd, stepping forward and holding his bento and notebook.
"Wow, aren't you just full of yourselves!" a boy said, peeking in. "I'm from 1-B next door-"
"He doesn't speak for the rest of us," Izuku cut in, stepping in front of Bakugou, hand out.
"Hey-" Bakugou started, glaring at Izuku.
Izuku glared right back. "Get your head out of your ass-none of our spots are permanent, you know, and your attitude is gonna make someone all the more eager to knock you flat on your ass."
Everyone around them tensed up as Hitoshi snorted, stepping forward even more.
"Oh, I'll be more than happy to do that myself," Hitoshi said, a smirk on his face.
"What do you mean none of our spots are permanent?" Sero asked, looking at Izuku.
"If a student from Gen-Ed ranks high enough in the Sports Festival, we get to move up to the Hero Course," Hitoshi said, looking around at the 1-A students, eyes lingering specifically on Bakugou. "And I'm confident I can take down at least one of you."
Izuku chuckled a little at that, and Hitoshi sighed, looking at him.
"You can at least try to take me seriously, Izuku," Hitoshi said, causing most people to startle at that (and most members of 1-A to remember why this boy looked familiar. This confident boy was the same that had come running in trying to find his twin brother-was that only a few days ago?)
"Sorry, but that's how you're declaring war?" Izuku asked. "Can't wait to see you put your money where your mouth is-speaking of!" Izuku stepped out of the classroom and looked at the silver boy from 1-B. "I was wondering if I could trade information with someone from 1-B-names of our students and quirks for yours!"
"Uh…what?" the boy asked.
"It benefits both our classes-gives us time to plan-same goes for anyone from Gen-Ed if you want!" Izuku said, looking around. "No weaknesses or anything, but a good way to start strategizing and planning on what-ifs."
"Hey, are you serious?" Iida asked.
"Hell yeah!" the boy said. "I'll take you up on that!"
"Perfect," Izuku said, following the boy back towards his classroom.
"Wait for me," Hitoshi sighed, walking past.
"I'm coming, too!" Kaminari said quickly, rushing along, too.
"...what just happened?" Kirishima asked as Bakugou started to walk away. "Hey, wait up, Bakubro! What was that?"
"Tch," Bakugou said, but waited until they were past the crowd before, much quieter, adding, "Deku's a quirk nerd-all he needs is names and quirks, and he'll be able to tell you any kind of weakness that person's quirk could potentially have. I'll give him that. It sounds like a win-win situation, but in reality, it's far from it."
"Oh, that's really clever-you'd never know," Kirishima said as the two walked towards lunch, more of their classmates following.
Meanwhile, Izuku followed the boy over to Class 1-B.
"I'm Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, by the way," the boy said. "You?"
"Izuku Midoriya," Izuku said. "Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, too-who are the ones with you?" Tetsutetsu asked, looking at Hitoshi and Kaminari.
"I'm Denki Kaminari!" Kaminari said.
"Hitoshi Midoriya," Hitoshi said.
"Ah!" Tetsutetsu said. "And Hitoshi Midoriya's Gen-Ed, right?"
"Yep," Hitoshi said. "Won't be handing over my own quirk's name-works best when it's a surprise, and I need all the advantage I can get."
"Ah, fair!" Tetsutetsu said as they entered the classroom, where a few 1-B students were getting ready for lunch.
"Hey, Tetsutetsu," a girl with orange hair said, looking over and pausing before sighing. "Who are these people?"
"1-A-Green Midoriya here offered to trade class names and quirks so we can start strategizing!" Tetsutetsu said.
A blonde boy huffed. "The esteemed Class 1-A is trading information? You're just trying to trick us-"
Izuku opened his notebook and tore out a page, handing it to Tetsutetsu. "No weaknesses written, just our names and quirk names."
"Wait, you're serious?" the blonde asked, clearly confused.
"I try to keep my word-so?" Izuku asked, holding his notebook to Tetsutetsu.
The orange haired girl walked over and carefully grabbed the notebook, starting to write. "My name is Kendo-I'm 1-B's class representative. I'm assuming you're 1-A's?"
"Nope, just trading information," Izuku said. "At the end of the day, we're both gaining valuable intel on each other as long as we know what to do with it."
"And afterwards, we'll be working together anyway, so it's good to get to know everything sooner!" Kaminari added. "Right?"
"Good point-here you go," Kendo said, handing over the list, and Izuku quickly scanned it over.
"Thank you!" Izuku said. "I can't wait to compete in the Sports Festival and see what 1-B can do."
"Hmm, you clearly think you're better than us," the blonde said.
"Monoma, stop antagonizing our fellow students," Kendo sighed, then looked at Izuku. "I'm sorry about him. He's…"
"Not the only blonde I know that's like that," Izuku said, looking at Monoma. "We don't think we're better than you. Well, not generally. Bakugou thinks he's better than everyone, but he's always been like that."
"Let's go to lunch," Hitoshi said. "It was nice talking with you."
"We'll see you at the festival!" Kendo said as the three left.
…..
"Yosetsu Awase. Quirk: Weld. I'm going to make some assumptions here and assume that it lets the user weld one object to another-interesting quirk, I'll have a bunch of questions when the Sports Festival ends, but that's a given."
Hitoshi nodded as Izuku wrote down his assumptions on the quirk, then glanced at the next one.
"Sen Kaibara. Quirk: Gyrate. That means moving in a circle or spiral, so I'm guessing Kaibara can use his quirk to move either himself or someone else in rotating motions. Makes me think of that old lady from Fairy Tail, the leader of-"
"Focus, Izuku," Hitoshi said, taking a bite and tapping Izuku's bento.
Izuku took a bite and wrote down a few more assumptions, then swallowed and moved to the next one.
"Togaru Kamakiri. Quirk: Razor Sharp. Probably self-explanatory.
"Shihai Kuroiro. Quirk: Black. This doesn't give much to work on, to be honest. Can he control objects that are black? Is it a shadow-based quirk? Based on the fact that the exam is combat-oriented, I'm going to assume it's an offensive quirk, so likely doesn't just turn objects black. Weaknesses might include light, similar to Dark Shadow, if my assumptions are correct there."
"Alright," Hitoshi said.
"Itsuka Kendo. Quirk: Big Fist. Also self-explanatory. It's also specific, so she can likely make her hands bigger, but not the rest of her similar to Mount Lady. Take out her hands and call it good, if I'm right.
"Yui Kodai. Quirk: Size. Does this mean her quirk is similar to Mount Lady's…? Probably not, so likely able to change an object's size. If it works on living objects, difficult to avoid since she could potentially shrink people and make it harder to fight in general. If not, it would likely work on clothing. I'm not sure about the activation requirements, though, but either touch or close range.
"Kinoko Komori. Quirk: Mushroom. Creating mushrooms, I would assume. Sounds interesting-"
"So this is where you are! We've been looking for you!"
Izuku, Hitoshi, and Kaminari looked up to see Uraraka, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Tsu standing there with trays.
"Oh, hey, guys!" Izuku said, jotting down a few more notes.
"Did you seriously trade notes?" Uraraka asked as they sat down.
"I know that I should have asked, but at the end of the day, it doesn't particularly matter-they'll find out anyway, and I only gave quirk names-some of them are self-explanatory, such as Explosion, but other than that, it takes quirk analysis and guess work," Izuku said. "For example, if I were to simply say Creation, one could guess that it's the ability to create any object as long as you know the chemical composition, but you could also guess that you're only able to create a certain kind of object, such as weapons-useful for heroics. Anivoice also makes you wonder-will they think 'ani' means 'animal' or just focus on the 'voice' portion? At the end of the day, all of the other students are observing us and will likely find different bits and pieces of our quirks and start to figure out what we can do-if they don't ask a teacher that's willing to give out that information, some of the teachers would see that as information gathering and give it out freely-but now, they have the names and the potential to look further, but if they think they have all the information they need, they won't look further, but that's a big if. This way, though, we also have a starting point to learn more information. It's a win-win situation if we take advantage of it to the fullest."
"I see-rather clever!" Iida said as Izuku held up his notebook. "Truly the kind of thinking a future hero will need!"
Izuku nodded as he wrote some more notes down. "Information is always within our reach if we're willing to figure out how to get it. It's better to be able to be comfortable trading information now before people's lives depend on it."
"That makes sense," Yaoyorozu said. "Mind if I take a look?"
"Sure-here's what I'm already done with," Izuku said, handing over his notebook for Yaoyorozu to look over.
…TW: PANIC ATTACK….
"Are you doing better after the USJ, listener?"
Izuku nodded, but his fidgeting made it clear he was not. "It was…bad, but everyone's alright, so that's all that matters, right?"
"Yep, but if you need to take a break, don't feel bad and just let me know," Yamada-sensei said. "Now, how are you feeling about the Sports Festival coming up?"
"I'm ready for it!" Izuku said immediately. "I did some information gathering during lunch today to get the quirks of 1-B and start figuring out strategies and how I would want to go about fighting any of them. I'm really interested in learning more details about the copy quirk, though. Copy quirks are very rare, and the possibilities are incredible. Can he copy the quirk of someone he knows or has a bond with? Copy quirks when he understands how they work? Copy quirks when he touches someone? How many can he use at a time? I wonder what would happen if-"
"Could you speak up a little bit?" Yamada-sensei asked, and Izuku quickly shut his mouth.
"S-Sorry," Izuku said quietly.
"Don't be, little listener!" Yamada-sensei said. "Just speak up a little bit-I'm working to understand what you're saying, but I'm not quite there yet!"
Izuku hunched his shoulders, making it pretty clear that he wasn't going to continue that conversation.
"Alright, so today, we're gonna be doing hand-to-hand combat, get your quirk ready for fighting people instead of just robots," Yamada-sensei said. "So, the two of us will be sparring."
"Ok," Izuku said, then the two got up and walked over to the mats.
"Now, I'm gonna hold back a little bit-start without quirks, but more to get into the rhythm, ya dig?" Yamada-sensei said. "Aizawa-sensei will be here in a bit, and then we'll start with your quirk."
"Ok," Izuku said. "Ready?"
"Yep-" Yamada-sensei said, and Izuku was quick to lunge forward and throw a kick at Yamada-sensei's knees, a hand going up towards his armpit.
Yamada-sensei immediately stepped out of the way and threw an arm up to block the punch. "Never any countdowns in real life-you think quick, huh?"
Izuku didn't reply, instead body-slamming into Yamada-sensei and throwing him…off his rhythm. Street smarts.
Yamada-sensei barely let himself even stumble before he responded by going to grapple Izuku and get him to the ground, but Izuku instead grabbed onto Yamada-sensei's arms and ducked slightly, causing the teacher to go over him and fall to the ground behind him, and Izuku was quick to jump out of the way from Yamada-sensei trying to grab his ankles, although he did hesitate-should I help him up?
Yamada-sensei quickly got up and aimed to Izuku's face-
-the hand villain was reaching towards Tsu's face-where's the knife-no knife, no time to think, just act-
Before Izuku could even comprehend what he was doing, he was hitting once…twice…three times in specific spots on Yamada-sensei's arm, then before Yamada-sensei could realize what was happening, he was hitting certain points on the teacher's back, sending him to the ground-
When Izuku finally snapped out of it, he was standing over a very confused Yamada-sensei, who was freaking out a bit.
"W-What…?" Yamada-sensei mumbled. "I…I can't move."
Izuku stumbled away. "I-I didn't-I'm sorry!"
"Hey-do you mind telling me-" Yamada-sensei started, but Izuku was still backing away.
"I-I'm so sorry-I-I didn't even-I shouldn't have-sorry, sorry," Izuku said, starting to hyperventilate, the corners of his vision starting to go dark as he backed against something…was that Aizawa-sensei, was that someone else, a mat, what…?
Izuku curled in on himself, dropping to the ground as his hands flew up to protect his head.
I just attacked a teacher! A pro hero! I'm gonna be expelled, I'm gonna be arrested-I can't believe I did that, I can't believe I did that, I can't believe I did that-I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-
…
Aizawa was quick to get Green Midoriya lowered to the ground as the boy had a full-blown panic attack, then he looked over at Yamada.
"Are you alright?" Aizawa asked.
"Can't move…wait, now I can," Yamada said, slowly getting up and hissing as he cracked his back sitting up, then looked at Green Midoriya. "Hey, listener, everything's fine-I'm fine, you're fine, everything's-"
Green Midoriya's quirk suddenly sparked slightly, but Aizawa was quick to turn his quirk off.
"His brother's in the library after school, right?" Yamada asked, quickly taking out his phone and dialing Cementoss.
….
"That makes sense…I think."
Hitoshi sighed as he gave Denki a tired, almost fond look. "Yeah, well, when you're around Izuku for long enough, it'll make more sense, I promise."
"I hope so," Denki said, glaring at the paper, almost like it was offending him. "Or maybe there shouldn't be equations in quirk analysis when figuring out how someone's quirk works."
Hitoshi shrugged. "It makes sense if you think about it." He tapped at a few different variables. "You have to take into account different resistances and how much someone's quirk can affect that when active versus deactivated." He paused for a few seconds, then looked at Denki. "In fact, you probably subconsciously realize all of this."
"No way," Denki said.
"Ok, then think like this-who's more likely to be hurt by your lightning, me or Izuku?" Hitoshi asked.
"You," Denki said immediately.
"And how do you know that?" Hitoshi asked.
"Well-" Denki started, then paused. "Uh…"
"Exactly," Hitoshi said. "You automatically know what target would be worse off, but I wouldn't, so instead, I have an equation to figure that out, although I probably wouldn't."
"Oh," Denki said. "Is that equation the same for everyone?"
"Not by a long shot," Hitoshi sighed, writing out another equation. "For example, this is the equation Izuku put together for Bakugou's sweat and explosions."
"Woah, that's way different," Denki said.
"Yeah-" Hitoshi started.
"Excuse me?"
The two looked up to see Cementoss-sensei standing there.
"Oh, hi!" Denki said. "We weren't being too loud, right?"
"No, not at all-you're Hitoshi Midoriya, right?" Cementoss-sensei asked.
"Yeah…" Hitoshi said slowly. "Why?"
Cementoss-sensei leaned in closer, causing both boys to lean in, too.
"Your brother is having a panic attack in Gym Gamma. Aizawa and Yamada are doing their best to calm him down, but-"
Hitoshi immediately shoved everything into his backpack and stood up. "Thanks-I'll see you in class tomorrow." With that, he quickly walked away.
"Hey-wait up!" Denki said, quickly stuffing his backpack and rushing after Hitoshi, waving at Cementoss-sensei as the two left the library.
…
Hitoshi quickly rushed to the gym and looked around wildly before his eyes snapped on Izuku, Aizawa and Yamada-sensei close to him but not overcrowding.
"What happened?" Hitoshi demanded as he walked over to his brother, barely aware of Denki stepping closer, too, but staying just far enough back. Hitoshi crouched next to Izuku and pulled him into a hug, burying his face in his shoulder as he looked at the two teachers.
"We were sparring, and he used some kind of…I'm honestly not sure what he did, but before I knew it, I couldn't move, and he was panicking," Yamada-sensei said.
Oh.
Hitoshi immediately sat back a little and gently ruffled Izuku's hair. "Hey, Izuku, Can you hear me?"
Izuku's eyes seemed to focus a little bit as he looked at Hitoshi. "Hi-Hitoshi-"
"Take a deep breath," Hitoshi said, waiting as Izuku did that. "Calm down a little bit-just like that. Keep breathing."
Izuku followed the instruction and continued to calm down as Hitoshi looked at Yamada-sensei. "He accidentally used a technique called chi-blocking-it paralyzes you for a minute or so, but it also can make your quirk not work for a day."
"Wait, really?" Yamada-sensei asked, eyes wide.
Aizawa-sensei's eyes, meanwhile, narrowed. "That doesn't sound like his quirk."
"Because it's not," Hitoshi said. "It's not a quirk at all."
"That…that isn't how it works, though," Yamada-sensei said. "It would have to be a quirk of some kind-are you sure he just doesn't have another-"
"Can I see your arm?" Hitoshi asked, moving slightly away from Izuku and holding out his hand.
"Uh…sure?" Yamada-sensei said, holding out his arm.
"Now, I'm not gonna fully do it, but if I hit here-" Hitoshi said, quickly hitting two points and holding his hand right before the third as Yamada-sensei shivered and paused. "If I hit this last point, your arm will stop working. That's not my quirk, and I'm adopted, so can't be some kind of weird bio-twin thing."
"I'm sorry," Izuku whispered, and everyone immediately looked at him.
"Don't be sorry-I'm fine!" Yamada-sensei said. "That's a very rockin' technique, though! Didn't know it was possible without a quirk. Mind showing me how sometime?"
"Sure," Izuku said, slowly standing up, his knees shaking.
"Another time, though-we're heading home," Hitoshi said, carefully putting an arm around Izuku's shoulders.
"I-I'm fine, though-" Izuku started.
"I'll see you in class tomorrow and check to see if you're feeling better-no point in continuing training today," Aizawa-sensei said.
"But-" Izuku started.
"Training when you aren't in the right mindset can be dangerous, especially with a quirk like yours," Aizawa-sensei said. "Recovery Girl would not appreciate having to see you because of unsafe training."
Izuku hunched in on himself at that.
"Let's go home-take a nap or something," Hitoshi said. "Is your backpack in the locker room?"
Izuku nodded.
"I'll carry it while you change," Hitoshi said, then gently guided Izuku away, looking at Denki. "You saw nothing."
"I saw nothing," Denki agreed, nodding.
"Good," Hitoshi said, walking out of the gym, guiding Izuku, Denki following.
…..
"Thank you for having me," Denki said as the three stepped into the Midoriya household.
"'Course-thanks for carrying Izuku's bag," Hitoshi said, guiding Midoriya, who had pretty much gone silent and barely responsive, into the house and shrugging off his shoes.
"No prob-anything I can do to help?" Denki asked.
"Can you set the backpacks in the living room?" Hitoshi asked, stepping on the back of Midoriya's shoes, prompting the green boy to take his shoes off. "I'll get him to his room, then we can keep working on homework."
"Sure," Denki said, taking his shoes off and heading to the living room, carefully sitting down on the couch and trying not to think about what had happened.
First off, damn he was simping over Hitoshi real bad. But that's nothing new. All it took was Hitoshi saying something, and Denki found himself agreeing immediately…even if he really couldn't pretend he saw nothing.
Why was Midoriya with Aizawa and Mic-sensei, anyway? Some kind of training, something involving hand-to-hand, but why did Midoriya, who had taken down Bakugou, who had (according to rumors) wounded the hand villain at the USJ, need training with fighting? Did it have something to do with…
Oh. Duh. His quirk. He broke his finger on the first day. He was probably doing some kind of fast-track quirk counseling before the Sports Festival. Aizawa-sensei had said Midorish's quirk made more training dangerous. Damn. Poor guy.
But still. To pull…whatever he pulled out of his ass. And apparently Hitoshi could do that, too. Good to know.
"He'll be out for a while-Mom and Dad won't be back for a while, either," Hitoshi said. "Mom said you can stay for dinner."
"Aw, sweet!" Denki said, then paused. "Uh…"
Hitoshi sighed. "What?"
"So…I know you said that I saw nothing, but…" Denki trailed off.
"Don't tell anyone about any of that," Hitoshi said. "Izuku doesn't like talking about it."
"Got it-my lips are sealed," Denki said. I'm hopefully gonna at least be friends with him if I date his brother, I can at least keep secrets for this family. And All Might, apparently.
"Good," Hitoshi said. "Well…his quirk is…"
"Destructive as hell," Denki nodded. "I figured it's some kind of quirk counseling."
"Yeah-he's pretty embarrassed about it," Hitoshi said. "Thinks he's so behind-I won't go into much detail, so let's just say no quirk counselor wants to deal with a quirk that breaks bones."
Denki winced. "Ouch." He's been there-it took years to find a quirk counselor that would deal with his quirk. And that wasn't anywhere near here.
"Yeah-since Aizawa-sensei had an erasure quirk, he stays after school to figure out how to use it," Hitoshi said.
"Ah," Denki said. "Makes sense."
"As for…well, the whole paralyzing thing-" Hitoshi started.
"Don't tell me," Denki said.
Hitoshi gave him an odd look. "Huh?"
"I'm assuming it's some kind of ace-up-your-sleeve," Denki said. "For the Sports Festival?"
"Well...yeah," Hitoshi said.
"Then don't tell me until after the festival," Denki said. "Besides, it looked complicated-my brain is already almost fried, don't get me closer-still need to finish homework…can you help me with math?"
"Sure," Hitoshi said, getting out his textbook.
…
Izuku slowly padded out of his room and down the hallway, already dreading everything.
I still have to eat dinner and do my homework…do the last bit of strength training for today…oh my All Might, do I have to tell Kaminari about what happened? I really don't want to-what if he tells our classmates? I finally have friends-I can't lose them-
"I can hear you muttering from here! We're on the living room!"
Izuku stopped, then hunched his shoulders. Damnit. He quietly walked into the living room to see Hitoshi and Kaminari watching TV. Both looked over at him, Hitoshi first, then Kaminari.
"Feeling better?" Kaminari asked.
Izuku slowly nodded, then he walked over and plopped down next to Hitoshi, grabbing his backpack and pulling out his homework. "...sorry."
"For what?" Kaminari asked, tilting his head.
"...today, I guess," Izuku said, hugging his knees.
"Don't apologize," Hitoshi said.
"Nothing to apologize for," Kaminari said.
"...the panic attack?" Izuku said. "You two having to come get me and get me home?"
Kaminari shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, I saw nothing."
Izuku blinked at him. Kaminari blinked back, then shrugged.
"All I really know is that I got invited to dinner and whatever you do after school stopped early today," Kaminari said. "So homework and TV time here instead of trying to understand…whatever Hitoshi was explaining to me."
"Quirk equations," Hitoshi said. "And you asked."
"Doesn't mean I get it!" Kaminari said. "It's all a blur-I'm struggling with regular math, let alone whatever college-level junk you're reading!"
He really…he really doesn't know?
Hitoshi, as if sensing what Izuku was thinking, looked over and winked, then looked back to Kaminari and continued the conversation, almost seeming fond.
I wonder if Kaminari's crush is mutual.
Izuku made sure to bite his lip so he didn't say that out loud.
I'm calling the chapter there!
Next up, the Sports Fesitval! And the last arc! I don't know if I'm gonna have the Sports Festival only be one chapter, or if I'll have one more chapter of little extra moments, but I will NOT be writing past the Sports Festival besides little snippets! I hope you're ready, because it's about to be a shit show! ARE YOU READY?! We'll see soon~